After The Fall
by omegafire17
Summary: Cocoon has fallen, and many have made the decision to move to Gran Pulse for a new life. They are helped by the former I'Cie, who helped them understand exactly what happened, and why. It was hard work, but now there are many settlements on Gran Pulse, making their living off the land. And Hope is faced with new feelings.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything of the FF13 world, including characters or sequels.

**Rating:** T

**Takes place in 3 AF, but despite that, the events of 13-2 have not happened (will be references to that game though). Also, slight adjustment to 13's ending.  
**

* * *

Hope sat back a bit, taking a look at the datalog entry in his hands, sighing. Not much had happened this month, and that would show clearly no matter how he worded it, but he struggled regardless. _"Maybe I should leave it like this"_ he thought finally, tilting his head. _"Not every entry has to be serious"_

"What are you doing?"

Hope looked up, smiling. "I'm trying to finish this datalog entry, Vanille" he said. She had changed little in the past three years, in stark contrast to himself: he'd grown taller, mostly.

Vanille stepped closer, bending over and gazing at his entry. "Hmm... did you include Cocoon's fall, and what we did?" she asked, looking at him.

"Vanille, that was the first of the entries" he said with a chuckle, pointing toward the other side, where a large collection sat. "This entry details what happened this month"

"You can never be too sure" she said brightly, then grasped the datalog. "Well, let's see it!" she said, easily taking it out of his hand, not that he was surprised. As she stood there, scrolling through the text, he alternated between fiddling with his fingers and glancing up at her, his heart racing.

See, over the past few years, he'd fallen in love with Oerba Dia Vanille.

_It hadn't started out that way: in fact, his first real impression of her was after the minutes-ago death of his mother. He'd registered enough to know she was cute, and her unusual outfit... but after that, his rage-blinded view of the world made her come across as childish, lacking in common sense, and generally weird, though she was like a big sister to him. He'd more-or-less kept that view until he'd finally gotten his head on straight, courtesy of Snow. He hadn't seen Vanille again until their raid on the Palamecia, and even then they didn't have much time to catch up, considering they met up with Barthandelus shortly afterward._

_On the Fifth Ark and their crash-landing on Gran Pulse, that had changed considerably, and he'd gotten to know Vanille a lot better. Of course, since their brands were ticking away, he didn't dare think much about it. But he still gleefully remembered messing with her, making her think he liked her that way, then laughing and running away._

_Then Cocoon had fallen, and they'd miraculously survived. And while they initially thought Vanille and Fang were inside the crystal pillar, they soon found their intact crystals in Oerba (still wasn't sure why about that one). He'd been overjoyed, but he hadn't known it at the time._

_And over those three years, he'd gone through various stages in no particular order: trying to see if he just had a crush on Vanille; if that crush would fade or not; no time to find out because of work to do... all of which were valid, but the feelings hadn't faded.  
_

He brought himself back to the present, and just in time too: Vanille had finished scrolling.

"I like that it's not too serious" she said cheerfully, throwing his datalog back into his lap, hands on her hips. "Not everything needs to be serious"

He smiled, put the datalog back on the desk and stood up, stretching. "Either way, I'll come back to it later" he said faintly, starting to walk outside. "If I think of something better, I'll write it down"

Vanille followed him, arms behind her back as she walked, humming cheerfully. And though he's probably thought this thousands of times already, she looked stunning in bright sunshine... when he wasn't blinded by it, of course.

"Ah" she breathed, holding her arms up high, enjoying it all. She eventually noticed him looking at her, and tilted her head. "Cocoon to Hope?" she asked playfully.

He jolted a little, and chuckled a little weakly. "Sorry about that" he said. "Lost in thought"

"Around a cute girl like me?" she continued, still playful as she walked around him. "That's not unusual"

He laughed, trying to sound like he was in on the joke, but truthfully he was just covering up. "I'm not surprised" he said, then started walking. "But I'm afraid there's more work to be done, so I'll see you later"

"Oh, bye!" she said, waving her hand high and cheerfully, which he returned.

Inwardly, he was just relieved; that could have gone worse. Now if he could only decide what to do next... not saying anything while thinking he should say something was killing him.

_"I've gotta find Fang"_ he thought, determined. _"She's bound to have noticed by now. Plus if I don't tell her and I try anything, she'll find me anyway"_

* * *

Turns out, Fang was currently on a hunting trip with PSICOM's forces, and they wouldn't be back for another hour.

But as it also turned out, Snow needed a hand with roof repairs (minor damage from flying Cie'th attack just days ago), so he went that way, and came across their house in minutes. He quickly heard the various noises of home repair, and saw two figures up on the roof, and he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Hey, Snow! Need a hand up there?"

"Hope!" Serah greeted him, surprising him slightly. She wiped her hand across her forehead, smiling at him, "We could use some help, thank you".

He smiled a bit, and started climbing. He knew Serah was a better cook than she was a repair-worker, but hey, she always tried to help out, even if she was no good. He couldn't blame her, as turning into crystal forced her out of the loop, unable to do much.

With a slight grunt, he got himself over the roof.

Serah sat hunched over a spot, searching for cracks it seemed, her side-ponytail dangling over the left side of her face. For this work, she had traded in her skirt for shorts, which definitely helped. On the other side of the roof, Snow was also hunched over, and wearing new clothes (the only thing unchanged was the black bandanna).

Snow looked around almost as once, and he grinned. "Hey Hope" he said lightly. "Glad you could make it. Search around there for cracks, if you can find any" he continued, gesturing toward the one unoccupied corner of the their wide roof. "Gotta make sure nothing leaks when it rains on us"

He chuckled, agreeing, and got to work.

* * *

After they finished, Serah invited him to join them, and he agreed; there was still some time before Fang returned.

"Would you like anything, Hope?" Serah asked, easily pulling off her pink sweeper, setting it on a hook beside the door.

"Just some water, thanks" he said, sitting down.

"Make that two" Snow added, lightly patting Hope on the back.

As Serah nodded and walked around, Snow sat down on the circular couch, still grinning. "You know, you're always welcome to stay for dinner, kiddo" he said seriously.

"I'm 17, Snow" he said mildly, looking up at him. "I'm not a 'kiddo' anymore. And besides, I'm waiting for Fang to get back"

"What for?" Serah asked, setting two glasses of water on their table. And while Hope sipped at his, Snow downed his in one go: Serah didn't seem surprised.

"Well, I gotta talk with her about something important" he said, gazing down at his glass. "About Vanille"

"Is she hurt, or in trouble?" Serah asked, her tone worried as she sat down beside Snow.

"No, nothing like that" he said quickly. "It's more personal, really"

"Come on, Hope" Snow said, putting his arm around his shoulder, briefly throwing him off-balance. "You can tell us anything; it can't be that bad!"

"Don't mind Snow, Hope" Serah said, with a little giggle.

"Anyway" Hope continued, getting himself out from under Snow's arm, thoroughly used to it. "I think I'm in love with Vanille."

"Aww, that's so sweet, Hope" Serah whispered softly, her fingers briefly touching the wedding ring on her finger. Beside him, Snow had secretly given him the thumbs-up and a wink, along with a grin. "Do you think Vanille likes you back?"

"It's hard to tell" he admitted. "We're very close, but Vanille hasn't shown any obvious signs of interest that I've seen. Well, other than the one time I messed with her on Gran Pulse, before Cocoon fell"

"But if I remember correctly, surprise and shock aren't the best signs that she liked you back" Snow said with a chuckle, hands behind his head. This comment got him a light reproach from Serah, which confused him a little.

Hope chuckled a bit, finding this amusing. "And I'm well aware that if I tell her I like her that way, she'll remember that time, and think I'm messing with her again" he continued. "So that's exactly what I'll do, and convince her that I'm serious"

"And that's where Fang comes in" Snow said, chuckling. "Talk to her first, and get her permission before you do anything. Am I right?"

"Right" he agreed, emptying his glass, then setting it down on the table. "Fang's very close to Vanille, so she needs to know about this before I say anything to Vanille. Plus, she'll tell me things straight, which is what I need right now".

"And that's definitely better than Fang finding out afterward" Serah mentioned, taking both their glasses, standing up. "Otherwise she might hunt you down, or something. She's a lot like my sister that way"

"Hey, that's what I was gonna say" Snow said mildly, looking at her. "The 'hunting you down' part, anyway" he added. Serah merely winked from the counter, smiling sweetly.

Hope chuckled again, but he stopped just in time to see Serah look at him again. "Does your father know about this yet, Hope?" she asked, head tilted.

"Not yet" he admitted; his father worked in another village, but they kept up their relationship. "But only because I don't know the entire situation yet. When I tell him, I want to be absolutely sure, about a lot of things"

"Sounds like sound advice, Hope" Snow mentioned, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Look who said 'sound' twice, Snow" he retorted mildly, then the three of them shared a laugh. And shortly afterward, they heard a familiar rumble; that of an airship coming closer.

Serah glanced around the counter, looking outside from there. "Could that be them, Hope?" she asked, turning back to look at him.

He smiling, standing up along with Snow, quickly going to the entrance. He turned back as he walked outside, yelling behind him: "That must be. I'll see you guys later!"

* * *

**So yeah, Vanille and Fang are not crystallized, 13-2's events have not started (never will here)... oh and the I'Cie keep their powers/summons despite the fact they're no longer bound :D There was a lot of actual divine intervention that day anyway, so why not a little more? But other than that, the set-up is mostly done.  
**

**And now things will start moving forward. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything of the FF13 world, including characters or sequels.

**Rating:** T

**Takes place in 3 AF, but despite that, the events of 13-2 have not happened (will be references to that game though). Also, slight adjustment to 13's ending.  
**

* * *

Hope held up a hand, watching the airship come closer, the wind whipping at his clothes.

Attached to Sazh's ship however, were three dead Behemoth Kings, suspended below the ship by thick cables. Which meant they would all eat good for the next month or so. Behemoth meat, plus the stuff they grew themselves, easily allowed them to make sure there was plenty of food.

The airship hovered in place ten feet off the ground, allowing the Guardian Corp troops to place the dead Behemoths onto special vehicles. After that, it moved slowly to the landing zone... but before that happened, one woman jumped off off the top of the ship, used a special vehicle as a stepping stone, then landed on the ground easily. And not a second afterward, Hope was there by her side.

"Well, has someone decided for you to be my welcoming commitee?" Fang said, sounding like she already knew, brushing dust off her shoulder.

"No, they haven't, and I need to talk to you, Fang" Hope said, knowing beating around the bush was pointless. "About Vanille"

The woman's attention centered on him near-instantly, but her expression seemed a little amused. "Am I correct in assuming that this about you having eyes for my Vanille?"

Hope opened his mouth to say something... then closed it; he somehow knew she'd know what he was going say, considering she and Vanille were so close, and she was so protective. "Uh, yeah" he said, looking down briefly.

"Well, I'll say this" she continued, chuckling. "You've got guts, kid, coming directly to me instead of hoping I wouldn't do it myself"

He felt a flash of irriatation. "Why do people still call me kid?" he asked mildly. "I'm 17 now"

"Because it's fun" she said bluntly, chuckling, then slowly walking around him. "But back to the matter of hand; Vanille. You wanted to say something?"

"Right" he said, watching her circle carefully. "Well, I wanted you to know that I like her that way. Obviously though, you've figured it out for yourself"

"Obviously" she repeated, then tilted her head. "So it's my permission you're asking for?"

"Yeah" he said simply.

She stopped, looking at him, one hand holding her spear by her side. "Well, nice of you to ask" she said lightly. "Technically you don't need it, but it's still good manners to ask. But there is one question that must be answered here first".

"Which is?" he asked, feeling a faint sense of dread.

"How far do you intend to take this relationship, should Vanille return your feelings?" she asked simply, head tilted.

The question brought him up short; incredibly, it turns out he hadn't thought about that past the first step...

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it" Fang said mildly, hefting the spear to rest on her shoulder.

At first, he said nothing; that was no denying he hadn't thought about it. Then he looked up, subtly defiant, "Fang, I promise I'll do my best with Vanille, whatever may happen" he said firmly. "But it's not just up to me. It's up to Vanille, and you too"

Fang simply looked at him for the longest time, but he didn't back down.

"Vanille's that way, about two miles down the valley" she said finally, gesturing with her spear. "Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it"

And with that, she walked off, leaving him looking after her briefly.

* * *

Hope pulled himself up with a grunt, taking a moment to rest and look around. He was definitely in the right place, where Fang said; he just had to spot Vanille. Though he did see a Behemoth King prowling to his right... best to go around. He _could_ solo it, but it would take so much time that it wasn't worth it.

And speaking of Vanille, he spotted her cheerfully strolling through a field of flowers, next to a wide plain. Or at least, that's what he thought he saw her doing.

Having caught his breath, he climbed down the cliff face to his left, aiming towards her. Eventually he got close, calling out to her as he climbed down the last stretch, and he heard a reply as he jumped in close:

"It's such a nice day!" Vanille breathed, bent over and admiring a large batch of flowers. "Glad you could join me, Hope" she continued.

Hope grunted slightly, landing a few feet away from Vanille. "You're welcome" he answered gently, looking at her as he patted himself.

From his side-view, he could see much of Vanille's profile: The red hair in curled pigtails, the green eyes, that smile, the fur-trimmed boots...

Okay, now he was nit-picking. Anyway, the point was, her usual appearance was very pretty to him, and her cheerful personality only magnified it. He loved all that, but one question remained: how would she react to his feelings? But he'd never know if he didn't try after all.

And while he was thinking, Vanille sniffed the flowers and stood up, smiling. "Hmm" she said faintly, one finger touching her cheek, one arm supporting the other. "What do you think?" she asked cheerfully, turning toward him. "We go for a swim next?"

"Uh, maybe" he said, a little surprised. He quickly pushed any thoughts out of his mind, because if he started thinking about the implications of them swimming together... it probably wouldn't end well. "But listen, Vanille, there's something I want to say"

"What is it, Hope?" she asked, tilting her head.

In the moment that followed, he hesiatated slightly; the moment had come, and he didn't know how she'd react. Could he do this?.

_It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do._

_"Right"_ he thought, remembering the quote. _"I can do this"_

"Hellooooo!" Vanille said, drawing it out, her body tilted so that she was right in his line of vision, jolting him. "You wanted to tell me something, hah hah!" she continued, bounding past him.

As he turned and watched her bound a short distance away, the words came easily: "Do something for me, Vanille" he said. "Keep smiling"

She slowed and stopped, but didn't turn around.

"I-" he continued, doing his best to sound like he did three years ago. "It makes me happy when you smile"

Vanille's fingers clenched slightly, and he heard a small grrr; a sound she rarely made. Then she turned around to face him, hands on her hips, with an annoyed expression. The same annoyed expression when he'd said she 'didn't get it' about the fal'Cie in the Pulse Vestige, in fact.

Hope braced himself a little, but he didn't move or change expression... much.

"You really thought I'd fall for that again?" she said in a low voice, sounding a bit like Fang, but neither quality lasted long: "Well, it didn't work out!". And just like that, she playfully pushed him as she giggled. He turned and watched her walk away, unoffended, but saw she wasn't done yet.

"You're pretty smart, Hope" she continued lightly, her back to him, overlooking a cliff. And she bent her head slightly forward, her hands going up, arranging a diamond shape between her fingers, and held herself that way for a few seconds before looking up. "We're friends, and I like playful jokes as much as the next person, but this time it's not as funny. Surely you knew that?"

Ten paces away, he stepped closer bit by bit, feeling the wind lightly tug at his hair. "Vanille, what if this second time wasn't a joke?" he asked, keeping his voice light.

She shook her head, but still wasn't looking at him. "Don't be silly, Hope" she scoffed, in her own way. "It can't be serious"

"But it is, Vanille" he said with all seriousness, stopping five paces away. "It's no joke"

Her head snapped up with a gasp, but it took her several seconds before she turned toward him. Her green eyes were filled with a mixture of surprise, shock and fear - that last one worried him.

"B-But - how?"

"Well, it didn't start till Gran Pulse, when we really had time to get to know each other" he said, not wanting to give another long explanation; he'd already thought one earlier. "You remember me messing with you, but I really did mean it - I just covered by saying 'Now we're even!'"

"So you were serious, but you _were_ joking at the same time?" she exclaimed, making another grrr noise and throwing up her arms briefly. "That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war" he said playfully, chuckling but still getting ready to bolt if she came after him again.

Her fist's clenched briefly, and she made a frustrated sexual sound (he knew it was actually just frustrated), but she didn't move. "Why didn't you tell me years ago then?" she asked loudly, her pigtails bouncing from her movements.

"I had to make sure my feelings were serious" he said simply, holding up his arm, looking at where his I'Cie brand used to be. "If I just had a crush, my feelings would have faded... so I waited"

Vanille inserted herself into his vision, bent over to do so. "You still could have warned me!" she said with reproach.

He chuckled weakly, figuring she meant his 'exactly-like-last-time' approach. "If I had, you might have thought I'd mess with you again" he said. "The best way to tell you was to get the second time out of the way. If I told you I loved you first, you'd remember me messing with you, and think I was messing with you again... I didn't think there was any way to avoid it, so I went straight at it"

She straightened, and he watched her. "Mmmhhm" she breathed, then glanced down. "Either way... I don't know how I should react right now"

"Then take your time, Vanille" he said gently, having expected this or something similair. "I can wait"

* * *

**Though Hope's already said it, any attempt to tell Vanille that he loved her would flash back to the game's moment, so there'd be resistance ;) And he met it head-on here in this chapter.**

**Plus, Vanille's always seemed like the type who wouldn't understand romantic love. I'm well aware of the 'other' angle about her & Fang, but I just can't see it. They love each other as family, but it just didn't have the edge of romantic love to me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything of the FF13 world, including characters or sequels.

**Rating:** T

**Takes place in 3 AF, but despite that, the events of 13-2 have not happened (will be references to that game though). Also, slight adjustment to 13's ending.  
**

* * *

_The next day_

Hope leaned his head back against the shore, thinking about a number of things. In the meantime, he sat shoulder-deep in a rapidly flowing river, about fifty feet away from a waterfall, which gave off a dull roar. All his clothes lay in a pile about ten feet to his right, and always easily in sight.

Mostly though, his thoughts were about Vanille. From what she'd said before, she didn't know what to do about his affection for her... neither a yes nor a no, just needed some thinking time. And that was the most difficult, he concluded, just waiting without having a clue what the final answer would be.

"Heeeeeeey!"

His head snapped up in surprise, looking forward. Only one girl would attract a person's attention that way: Vanille. And sure enough, she stood there on the other side, in the middle of waving her arms high.

"Hey!" he waved back, slightly louder to be heard over the dull roar.

"Can I join you? We need to talk!" she continued, her voice changing pitch after the first part.

He raised an eyebrow, which he didn't think she could see from here. Both of them together, in this river, possibly with no clothes... he involuntarily glanced at his clothes as his mouth worked of it's own accord: "Sure!"

"But don't you dare peek!"

He let out a weak chuckle, shook his head so she could see, then leaned his head back onto the rocky bank behind him. And for good measure, he hid his eyes in the crook of his elbow, so he could see nothing. He sat there for the next minute or two, breathing enough and trying to keep his thoughts from wandering...

"Boo!" he heard in his ear.

He was startled, but he heard her giggle as she retreated a bit. Like him, Vanille sat shoulder-deep in the water, floating away to two-arms length away: close, but not too close... and he couldn't blame her, considering that a glance told him her clothes were on the other bank. Nothing he shouldn't see, or hadn't already anyway.

"Does that make us even now?" he asked with a chuckle. Vanille simply nodded with a 'Yup!'.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, during which Hope silently struggled not to let his thoughts wander... they were just gonna talk; there was no reason to get flustered over what she wasn't wearing (and couldn't even see right now). "So, Vanille, you wanted to talk?"

"Mmh" she breathed, holding up her hands together, half-turning from him. "Yeah... I don't know what I should do"

"But, you do know about love, don't you?" he asked, tilting his head. "You do know what you're getting into?"

"Only what I've seen with Serah and Snow" she confessed. "Other than that, I've never really looked at people like that... or knew if people were looking at me that way. I just prefered not to think about it"

"And Fang?" he asked, smiling slightly, knowing she was too close to Fang not to ask her.

"Ah" she breathed. "She said to follow my heart, but I also didn't understand what she meant when she asked how far I intended to take things... I answered 'I don't know', but she seemed to take that as my answer"

Too far... and Vanille seemed ignorant of what exactly that entailed, partly with the less intimate details as well. That changed how he needed to do things, and he sat there looking at Vanille for a few moments, the water sloshing around them. "So... what does your heart say?" he asked gently.

She looked at him, eyes hesiatant and nervous. "We're friends, Hope" she said, glancing down at her joined hands. "We've been through much together, and we can depend on each other, even with our lives... but I don't know if there's more to my feelings"

He was prepared for it, but he did feel disappointment... which passed quickly. Learning that she was overall ignorant of love, he knew it was reasonable not to know or understand what love would feel like. He smiled, tilting his head as he came slightly closer, stopping at an arm's length as she sat there nervously. "Well, Vanille, I understand" he admitted. "You've never experienced this kind of love before"

Vanille dipped her head, along with another "Mmh" sound.

"But perhaps we can work on this together, slowly" he offered. "I can teach you about love, how it feels and so on, if you want"

"That's so sweet, Hope!" she said cheerfully, grabbing his hands in her excitement, to his surprise. "Thank you"

"You're welcome" he answered after a moment, chuckling. Vanille slowly looked at their hands, and pulled away a bit abruptly, looking nervous. "I've seen Serah do that a lot with Snow... that's love, isn't it?"

The naive question made him smile. "Well, it _can_ be a way of showing love, but it's still something friends can do, though rarely" he assured her. And on a burst of instinct, he leaned forward a bit: "Just like this"

She gasped when his lips found her cheek. He lingered that way for a second or two, allowing her time to experience it, then gently pulling away. "And don't worry, we'll be completely slow. That's all that's gonna happen for awhile" he continued with a smile, picking himself up slightly and moving away, back to two-arms length so they'd both have their space.

"Hope..."

Something in her voice made him stop, and turned back around. Vanille had her fingers in that diamond shape she did, her face working but extremely nervous, and when she looked up, she made a small little 'Ah' sound.

"Vanille?" he asked, softly.

Vanille started moving toward him, her figure raising slightly. For a moment, he even thought she was gonna stand up, but it turned out she was simply walking toward him carefully. He sat still, his heartbeat rising a bit when she came closer, within an arms-length, where she hesitated. He understood, and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, much to her vocal surprise.

"Hope, I-" she struggled to say, her expression still completely nervous.

"It's okay" he whispered gently, smiling. "You can do it"

It took her several moments, but she did start slowly leaning forward, her eyelashes fluttering slightly without her knowing. He leaned forward a bit, but he made sure most of it was on her own, closing his eyes. With all the gentleness of a light rain, their lips touched, rather clumsily in her case. Vanille moaned at the sensation, but not in the way it sounded like... he knew better than to take it at face value; she made sounds like that all the time.

For several seconds, their lips stayed together gently, soft and wet. Then they pulled apart, slightly breathless from the kiss. Vanille's face was slightly red, and with another sound, she looked down as she floated away slightly, uncertain.

He smiled gently, knowing that she had liked it, but didn't know what any of it meant or what to do next. His work was far from over, and would take awhile, but he'd gladly face it with Vanille since she was willing to try.

"I-I" she stuttered faintly, nervous as she looked at him.

"It'll be okay, Vanille" he whispered gently. "We'll take this one step at a time, I promise"

She glanced down for a moment, then back up, slowly nodding. "Okay" she breathed.

* * *

After that, Vanille left while Hope stayed, getting dressed as he simultanously dried himself off.

Mentally, he still couldn't believe he'd gotten through that without blushing, considering all the factors... maybe something was wrong with him. Or maybe it was just his mature side, able to ignore what Vanille wasn't showing - okay, he had to stop right there. Can't let himself get carried away; not this early. He chuckled wryly at the mental struggle, dusting himself off as he finished.

"Well, that went well"

He should have been surprised, but somehow, all he did was sigh. _"I should have known"_ he thought with a mental chuckle. "Were you spying on me, Fang?" he asked out loud, turning towards her.

Fang strode toward him, looking at him. "No, I just happened to be in the area, and I only listened in" she said blankly, then tilted her head with an amused expression. "Of course I was spying on you. The way you two were minutes ago... anything could have happened"

Only Fang would be that direct, he knew. "Well, nothing completely big happened, but don't tell me you watched us changing" he said.

"Oh come on, kid" she said, chuckling at his irriatation. "Even I wouldn't stoop that low"

After a moment, he chuckled. "I guess not, but I had to make sure" he said, walking past her.

"Just remember that if she's hurt because of you, you're gonna need help to survive, Hope" was called after him.

He paused in his walking, noting the sudden use of his name instead of 'kid'. Even without it, he knew she was serious... He kept walking after a moment.

"Don't worry, Fang. I'm well aware of what would happen" he said easily. And he had no intention of letting it happen.

* * *

**And done :) Oh Fang**

**Will be followed-up sometime in the future.**


End file.
